It is bitterly ironic that in this, the 800th anniversary year of Magna Carta, there are threats from the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. This convention is Europe’s own Magna…

The Productivity Commission raised a few eyebrows when it called for an additional A$200 million for legal assistance services to disadvantaged Australians, who are “more susceptible to, and less equipped…

The halls of the Royal Courts of Justice shouldn’t have to throng with students.
Nick GarrodNovember 19, 2014

Law students are doing more pro bono work than ever before. In 2014, 70% of all UK law schools now provide free legal services to individuals, groups and organisations. According to the latest LawWorks…

It never gets any easier for justice minister Chris Grayling. Every month he seems to face fresh criticism over some new catastrophe in the justice system over which he presides. September is proving no…

It’s been a year since the government introduced fees for workers making a claim to an employment tribunal. The most recent statistics show that this has led to an 81% decrease in cases. This has profoundly…

Lawyers like George Newhouse deserve praise, not abuse, when they go to court to ensure people are protected by the rule of law.
AAP/Paul MillerJuly 10, 2014

Australia’s courts serve us well, acting independently in their application of the law. However, that doesn’t protect them from attacks for performing their legal and constitutional duties. Similarly…

We should continue to agitate for fairer, cheaper and more just legal systems, after a Productivity Commission draft report noted the difficulties for many in accessing justice.
AAP/Dave HuntApril 10, 2014

Half of all Australians will experience a legal problem this year. Most won’t get legal assistance or come into contact with our courts or other legal institutions. In part, this is because Australia’s…

When residents from the tiny town of Bulga won a three-year court battle to stop Rio Tinto expanding an open-cut coalmine beside them, it was hailed as a victory for David over Goliath. Yet the type of…

There may never be a more appropriate epitaph for Chris Grayling’s time as justice secretary than that offered when he addressed the Joint Committee on Human Rights last year. As committee chair, Hywel…

It’s not often you see bewigged barristers take to the streets waving placards in protest, but such were the scenes outside the Old Bailey and other courts around the country as defence lawyers demonstrated…

In an adversarial criminal justice system like the one we have in England and Wales, access to justice depends on access to lawyers. The court system is complicated and confusing, a heady mix of archaic…

Will vouchers to access legal aid services be the fix the Australian legal system needs?
AAP/Lee BesfordOctober 23, 2013

Most Australians with legal problems are unlikely to be able to access the help they need. Unless you’re wealthy and can pay for a private lawyer, or extremely poor and disadvantaged and able to access…